Karen & Kurt

Edgewood in St. Denis

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Smart Woman

It is the simplest and quickest of prayers, but it’s one that I whisper a lot.

“Oh my Jesus, lead all souls to you, especially those most in need of your mercy.”

I’m not going to take it apart for you and I’m not going to go on a theological explanation. But in the past few days we have seen again the horror of ISIS, or the Islamic State, and the abominable acts it is capable of committing. It murders. It takes hostage...

As I write this, we are almost done moving the last drips and draps out of Misty Lake and cleaning the townhouse. I never realized how emotional this process is! Stuff just seems to keep coming out of the house! It’s amazing what two people, who lived full single lives for 15 years, can cram into one house during the first few years of marriage.

We have loved Misty Lake. The neighborhood – our corner of it – has been beautiful. The pond made a huge difference in hel...

So, my friends, here’s the update: We signed on the house on Friday. We bought our house! After last month’s crushing rejection, Kurt and I spent a serious two weeks grieving for the Sutton Avenue house that we lost out on. As you recall, I spent the first week waiting for a call that was not going to come.

Yes, I did write “bullshit” in the title above. I have spent six years as a member of the ADHD community – I don’t have the disorder but I work for an organization that struggles to get real, good, science-based information into the hands of parents, affected adults, their spouses and partners, teachers, friends, doctors, health care administrators and everyone else who has even the slightest interest in this disorder. And what is the damn message that the popular cult...

I don’t make a habit of commenting on another woman’s medical decisions. They are intensely personal, wrapped in emotion and often made while we are trying to weigh the information we’ve been given, the research we do, our best and worst impulses and the too-many opinions of friends and family who are all convinced they know what’s best for us. It’s hard to make a decision about our long-term health in the best of circumstances when all o...

More than 125 years ago, my great-great-grandfather passed
through Ellis Island, carrying with him a family history of a long-ago devotion
to Thor, the Viking God of Thunder. Just
ask each one of the men in the family who’s name comes from our ancestor, Thor
Saulmanson who Americanized his given name to Thomas. I was taught that I am descended
from a mighty warrior people who explored the seas and new lands, who fought
and died bravely a...